Homily For Saturday Before Epiphany, 7th January, 2023

Readings : 1 John 5:14-21; Ps 149; John 2:1-11

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

LEARN TO DO WHATEVER  THE LORD TELLS YOU

 

As the year unfolds our Liturgy today calls our attention to something very important especially as regards our plans and purposes this year. Little wonder our Gospel passage today presents to us the story of an event that portrays what ought to be our relationship with Jesus and his mother Mary in every events of our daily lives this year.

 

Here, we see how the wedding couple invited Jesus and his disciples in the most important day of their lives. And when an embarrassing moment came up during the course of the celebration, Mary in her usual way of helping people asked Jesus to save the couple from social embarrassment and even when her request was not granted by her son, she had strong faith that he will not refuse her request. So she said to the servants: “ Do whatever he tells you”.

 

By this request Mary who represents the Church reveals to us the key to achieving our goals and plans this year. That is to say that, the secret key that opens the treasure of success in our daily activities this year is to do whatever the Lord Jesus tells us. But what did Jesus say we should do? He told the servants: Fill, Draw and Serve.

 

Here, Jesus is telling us to fill our life with the water of salvation which he offers us every day through his Words and Eucharist and when we have filled our lives with the fountain of his presence, then we should draw from the joy it offers and serve the humanity who are really in need and thirsty for the word of God especially at this moment in our world when humanity really hope and seek for God’s intervention in our societies and our country Nigeria in the up coming elections

 

Dear friends, we must learn to do whatever the Lord tells us this year. For we really need to fill our lives with the words of Jesus, which we hear everyday. We need to learn from our mother Mary who never ceases to pounder God’s words in her heart. We need to learn how to serve others from the abundant we have received from God. We need to draw from the fountain of grace and gifts that God has given to us in order to build up our families, societies, country and continent.

 

We need to learn how to sacrifice for the good of others. We need to learn how to intercede for others who are passing through difficult moments. But this is possible only when we have filled our empty soul with love, peace, joy and happiness that comes from know that Jesus cares so much about us personally and collectively.

 

So we must learn to ask and pray for one another for St. John in our first reading today said if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, the situation of human life in our world today is really frightening, as we listen to your words today, may we find strength to do your will always, may you protect us from the evil manipulations and agenda of the wicked in our societies and our country Nigeria. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Friday Before Epiphany, 6th January, 2023

Readings : 1 John 3:5:5-13; Ps 147; Mark 1:7-11

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

“YOU ARE MY BELOVED SON;WITH YOU I AM WELL PLEASED”

Today’s Liturgy presents to us the events that occurred at the baptism of our Lord Jesus. Here we see how the plan of God for the redemption of humanity was manifested. For in our Gospel passage today we heard how the true identity of the chosen servant of God was confirmed at the baptism of Jesus where God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and power and his voice was heard saying: “This is My beloved Son; with Whom I am well pleased." This shows God's revelation to mankind especially about the mystery of the Trinity and also to reveal Jesus’ true identity and mission.

 This of course reminds us of our identity and mission as Christ faithful. It reminds us of who we are and our commitment to God on the day we were baptized. It also reminds us that Jesus received baptism not because he needs it, rather, it is to identify himself with his people, who, as a result of John's preaching, are now aware of their sins and of their need for repentance. This symbolizes the new covenant God wants to make with humanity, thereby calling us to repentance and faith in God.

Little wonder in our first reading, we heard John stressing on the important of professing our faith in Jesus Christ which is an essential aspect of our faith. He said Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Dear friends, God during the baptism of Jesus manifested and confirmed the mission of his son when he said this is my beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased. For we are invited today to come and receive the immortality that flows from this baptism through the testimonies of water, Spirit and Blood which bear witness to the love of God for humanity. For this is the water that is linked to the Spirit, the water that irrigates Paradise, makes the earth fertile, gives growth to plants, and brings forth living creatures.

Here through baptism we acknowledge our dignity as God’s children, for we are called to live as children of God in thought, word and action, to live a holy and transparent Christian life and not to desecrate our bodies with impurity, injustice, intolerance, jealousy or hatred. Rather we should learn to grow daily in intimacy with God and be co-creators in building up of his Kingdom on earth.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we thank you for the gift of your presence with us. As we listen to your voice today may we experience you personally in our lives and so be filled with the grace and joy of Christ’s presence, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Thursday Before Epiphany, 5th January, 2023

Readings : 1 John 3:11-21; Ps 100; John 1:43-51

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

CAN I BE A SIGN OF INTEGRITY IN A WORLD FULL OF CORRUPTION AND DECEPTION?

 

In our society today, morals and virtuous acts are no longer valuable and fashionable as the society seems to be living, promoting and celebrating artful deception, dishonesty, corruption and fraudsters. Integrity has become virus to be eliminated as quickly as possible while heroes of deception and fraudsters are honored and celebrated.

 

Today we are called to change this ugly attitude and learn from Nathaniel. A man of integrity whom Jesus in our Gospel passage today gave a great compliment when he met him and said “Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile.” For there was no deception in him. Jesus could see right away that he was forthright, honest, open, plainspoken, straightforward, innocent and unpretentious.

 

Nathaniel thought that nothing good can come out of Nazareth, but when he encountered Jesus, he exclaimed, “Rabbi you are the son of God” and Jesus acknowledge his faith and promised him that he will see the heaven opened angels ascending and descending. This teaches us that we should not underrate people because of their humbled background. But like Phillip who introduced Nathaniel to Jesus, we are called to share our experience of Jesus with those we encounter in life no matter their background, for it can be a great opportunity for them to encounter God.

 

Dear friends, the world needs people of integrity like that of Nathaniel and today we are called to imitate him. But can I be a sign of integrity in a world full of corruption and deceit? Can I say no to corruption and greediness? Can I speak and stand for truth in my dealing with people this year? Let our everyday encounter with Jesus this year help to transform us, and by so doing we can transform the ugly situation in our societies and the world at large through our witnessing.

 

Little wonder St.  John in our first reading today said: You must not be surprised, brothers, when the world hates you; since we have passed out of death and into life, and of this we can be sure because we love our brothers. If you refuse to love, you must remain dead; to hate your brother is to be a murderer, and murderers, as you know, do not have eternal life in them.

 

Therefore, let us like Nathaniel be courageous and exemplary in our actions, so that, living by our faith and doing what the Lord has commanded us to do, we may become great instrument that will win more people and save many more souls for the Lord.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, today we are reminded of the need to live a life of integrity in a world full of deception and corruption. Grant us the grace to embrace your word and experience your presence in our lives and so change our ugly and sinful ways of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you uncommon favour from the Lord today and always.

Homily For Wednesday Before Epiphany, 4rd January, 2023

 Readings : 1 John 3:7-10 , Ps 98, John 1:35-42

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

AN ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS THE LAMB OF GOD

 

Everyday is an opportunity to encounter God through different events that occur in our lives. Sometimes we have memorable and remarkable events in our lives, but often times we have insignificant ones. I don’t know if you have ever had an experience that made you realize the emptiness of the things of this passing world, a kind of experience that turns pride into humility, sinfulness into righteousness. Weaknesses to strengthen.

 

This is the kind of experience the two John’s disciples had when he showed them Jesus the Lamb of God. They followed him and remained with him. They encountered Jesus and their lives never remained the same again. This very encounter brought about their true vocation and destiny from John’s disciples to disciples of Christ.

 

We heard that one of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. For early next morning, Andrew met his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus, who looked hard at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ meaning Rock

 

Dear friends, like these two disciples of John the Baptist, we are called to reflect on our personal experience with God. How have we experience God, when was you spiritual turning point, have you really experience God personally. Can we share confidently our personal conviction about God with others. In case we don’t even know if you have any personal experience of God, all we need to do is to sincerely seek God in those common events in our lives and we will realize how much God is willing to reveal himself to us.

 

The problem why often it seems as if we are far away from God is because we are so attached to things of this world such as: greed, guilty passion, evil desires, fornication, impurity, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god. It is because of these kinds behaviour that makes us stay far away from God and it gets worst when one is surrounded by people who are doing the same thing. Little wonder St John in our first reading today said: my children, do not let anyone lead you astray: to live a holy life is to be holy just as he is holy; to lead a sinful life is to belong to the devil, since the devil was a sinner from the beginning.

 

Therefore this new year, we must give up all our ugly attitudes of getting  unnecessary angry, being bad-tempered, spitefulness, the use of abusive language and dirty talk and telling of lies. Thus, we must put off our old behaviour and put on a new self which looks up towards encountering Jesus the Lamb of God.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God,  you often wish that we should know you. As we go about our daily activities, may you experience you in a unique way and through this experience discover our true vocation in life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Peace be with you.

Homily For Tuesday Before Epiphany, 3rd January, 2023

 Readings : 1 John 2:29-3:6 , Ps 98, John 1:29-34

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

I HAVE SEEN AND I AM A WITNESS

 

As Christians our duty is to teach and bear sincere witness to God’s commandments by our ways of life. This of course points out the mission of the Church in proclaiming the word of God and our part in this mission. Little wonder the Gospel passage today reminds us of how God has called us all to follow Christ, the Lamb of God and Saviour of the world. For hen John the Baptist in saw Jesus passing by he declared: ‘this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world... Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’

 

Here John is pointing out the essence of Jesus’ mission, whose coming was foretold by prophet Isaiah (49:3.5-6), telling us about that great Servant of God, whose mission was to bring sinners back to God. Consider this great task of Jesus, John introduced him as a Lamb of God and not Lion and also described the Holy Spirit as a dove, not a hawk which is more powerful.

 

why? Because, the Lamb is the most gentle, harmless and loving creature of God while the dove is a gentle bird, a symbol of peace and goodwill.  So these images tell us about the person and approach by which Jesus will carry out his mission. Consequently, Jesus, the gentle Lamb of God, gently died for our sins, so that we could live in joy and freedom of God’s children, teaching us to bear authentic witness of this great event in our relationship with one another.

 

This is our vocation and mission for John said in our first reading: You know that God is righteous then you must recognise that everyone whose life is righteous has been begotten by him. So, to all of us Christians, who have been called to follow Christ and have been sanctified and blessed to be God’s people, who are reunited and brought together from the world to bear the fruit of love and holiness of life. So that we can be true and living witnesses of our faith in God, to proclaim His salvation among the nations and the peoples of the earth.

 

Dear friends, like John we can say: I have seen and I am a witness. For we have been entrusted with the great task of witnessing. We are commissioned as Christ disciples to go forth and make disciples of all the nations, making all peoples to be God’s children through His Church by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are called to bear authentic witness of our experience of God.

 

 But how can we achieve this task? The approach is given to us by John the Baptist, who tells us to follow the way of the Lamb and the dove. That is, we are to be the most gentle, harmless and loving children of God, we must be a symbol of peace, compassion and goodwill. We are not to force people to believe in God by the use of intimidation or force, and neither should we use any forms of tricks or false persuasions.

 

All these methods do not usually lead to true faith and love for God, and in fact they may cause people to turn away from God and the Christian faith. Instead, we should love people and do our best in living our lives with faith and holiness each and every moments of our life. Because, if our actions and way of life do not match what we profess to believe in, how can we then expect people to believe in us or in the Lord. For instead of bringing others closer to God, we will only end up sending them further away from God.

 

Therefore, as the year unfolds, we are all challenged to live our lives as the Lord has taught us. We should put our trust in the Lord and make him the center of our lives in every actions. We should show love, care, compassion and concern for our fellow brothers and sisters just as the Lord has loved us.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, give us the grace and courage to bear authentic witness of your Gospel in a world where people are confused and no longer pay attention to your word. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a peaceful day

Homily For Monday Before Epiphany, 2nd January, 2023

The Memorials of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops,

Readings : 1 John 2:22-28 , Ps 97, John 1:19-28

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE IN THIS WORLD?

 

Oftentimes, things happen in our lives that we can not explain how and why they happened. This is to tell us that we are unique and special, because, in our uniqueness we come to realize that God has a special plan for everyone. Today, in our Gospel passage, we heard about the role and the personality of John the Baptist's in redemptive plan of God. This is obvious when John was questioned by the Pharisees. They asked him, who are you? This is a fundamental question we need to ask ourselves everyday. John explained to them that he is just a voice and his role and purpose is to cry in the wilderness in order to make a straight way for the Lord.

 

This is a fundamental question because it points out to the fundamental reality of who we are and what we have identified ourselves to with. A lot of people do not know who they are or what they have identified themselves with. A lot of people today are sufferings and struggling because they do not know who they are and the identity they bear. Some have misplaced their identity with some thing else, some are putting on an identity that doesn’t belong to them.

 

Dear friends, Who are you? What is your identity? What is the source of your identity? Whose identity are you putting on now? Why are you putting on someone else identity? Why have you misplaced your identity. John the Baptist was very clear about his identity, he was clear that he was not the Christ. He was clear that he was not Elijah. John was clear that he was not the prophet, he was only a voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.

 

The fact remains that every human person has a special role to play in the Masters plan of God. Though some seem to have more significant role than others. However, whether significant or not, the truth still remains that we all have a role to play. But the question is, how are we playing this role? Are we playing according to the master plan or against it? Are we confuse about who we are and our role in this master plan of God or have deviated from it.

 

As the year begins we must ask ourselves the fundamental question: who am I? what is my purpose on this earth? To discover these, we must ensure that we cooperate with God's plan for us and to do these three things are very essential. First we must learn to pray the right way, secondly, we must have a convincing plan, nurture it and not deviate from it. Thirdly, we must be disciplined and strive to live a holy life. Remember, we are playing our own role in the salvation of mankind, our existence means a lot to future generation.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our true identity is found only in you through Christ your son, as we rejoice and celebrate his birthday, may we be filled with the joy of his presence and through the intercession of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen,  grant us the grace to live out your purpose in this life.  We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful week.

Homily For Sunday The Octave of Christmas. Happy New Year 1st January, 2023

The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. And World Day Of Peace 

Readings : Num 6:22-27, Ps 67, Gal. 4:4-7, Luke 2:16-21

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

HOW TO IDENTIFY YOUR PLANS AND PURPOSES THIS YEAR WITH THE UNIVERSAL PLAN OF GOD FOR HUMANITY

 

Today, the whole human race is celebrating the goodness of God who has made it possible for us to witness another New Year. So every first day of January the Church celebrates three great events. First,  the Church joins the whole human race to celebrate the New Year, another gift of God to humanity. Secondly, since this great gift comes as we are celebrating the birthday of our Lord Jesus, the Church reflecting on the role of Mary in the whole event of this season, dedicated today as the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. And thirdly, following the ugly situation of war and  crises which humanity has found herself, Pope Paul VI chose and encouraged us to celebrate every 1st day of January as the World Day of Peace. 

 

So we are called to pray for peace in our world and also commit our plans and purposes to God this year knowing that every year is a gift of God to humanity. We journey through it in hope, full of expectations, favour, grace and blessing just like Mary whom God in time endowed with the great responsibility of becoming the Mother of his Son Jesus Christ, thereby sharing greatly in the universal plan of God for humanity.

 

Therefore, following the role of Mary in God’s plan for our salvation, the Church ascribes some special prerogatives or privileges to her. These prerogatives concern what the Faith of the Church affirms in connection with the blessed Virgin Mary. They include her immaculate conception, her perpetual virginity, the assumption of Mary and the title Mary, the Holy Mother of God (Theotokos), which is the foundation of other prerogatives. The solemnity of this prerogative is what we are celebrating today which shows her special role in the universal plan of God, of which our Gospel passage today gave us some details of how she cooperated with the will of God and treasured all the things that happened to her and pondered them in her heart.

 

This tells us that our success in life is determined by our disposition towards doing the will God. Hence, we have to identify our plans and purposes this year with the universal plan of God for humanity. But how can we identify the plan of God? Very simple, we were told in Gospel of John 2:1-11, how the wedding couple invited Jesus and his disciples in the most important day of their lives. And when an embarrassing moment came up during the course of the celebration, Mary in her usual way of helping people asked Jesus to save the couple from social embarrassment and even when her request was not granted by her son, she had strong faith that he will not refuse her request. So she said to the servants: “ Do whatever he tells you”

 

By this request Mary who represents the Church reveals to us the key to a successful and happy Christian Life. That is to say that, the secret key that opens the treasure of a successful and happy Christian life is to do whatever he (Jesus) tells us. But what did Jesus say we should do? He told the servants: Fill, Draw and Serve. Telling us to fill our life with the water of salvation which he offers us every day through his Words and Eucharist and when we have filled our lives with the fountain of his presence, then we should draw from the joy it offers and serve humanity who are really in need and thirsty for the word of God especially at this moment in our world when humanity really hope and seek for God’s intervention.

 

Dear friends, let this principle guide all our activities this year for that is how to identify our plans and purposes with the will of God. So, we must learn to fill our minds with positive things so that we can draw from the abundance of our hearts and serve humanity. Therefore, we must know that whatever healthy seed you water grows and the seed you quit watering will eventually die and go away. But the question is, what kind of seed are you going to be watering in your life this year? Are you going to be watering valuable seeds or weeds? Because nature has made it clear that not all the seeds are good for us and so any unwanted seed is a potential weed. Then, the question you need to ask yourself is: are you watering weeds that you do not need? There are so many weeds in our lives, such as: weeds of fear, regrets, doubt, jealousy, hatred, disrespect, greediness, lying, gossip, impurity, wickedness, procrastination etc they are good for nothing.

 

Today we are called to quit watering these weeds because that's what the enemies want and we must not fall into their traps. Rather we are called to water those valuable mustard seeds of goodness, honestly, faithfulness, love, holiness, obedience, charity and make them our values of life. For when you feed and water your value, your value will grow stronger like the mustard tree that all the people of the world may find solace on it. As you begin this year with the Lord, know that the transcendent power and authority belong to God. Yes we may be affiliated in every way, but  never be crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

 

Yes, we must know that true greatness is found in service and not in domination or subjection of others. Good leaders serve the community, they subdue arguments and divisions, they maintain unity in times of distress and act as role models for the young. This year, we all are called to identify our plans and purposes with the universal plan of God. We are called to serve in any capacity we find ourselves, bearing in mind that one should not strive to be a leader but a servant because leadership is a gift given to one by God. Remember, you don't have to be great to get started but you have to get started in order to be great this year. All we need is to ask God to fill us with wisdom and show us what we can offer to humanity this New Year in accordance with his plan, for by so doing we will be successful in all we do this year.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of another New Year, grant that through the intercession of our Mother Mary, may we find strength to do your will always especially in all our daily struggles. May your grace and favour be with us even to the last hour of this new year. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy New Year.